Stratford Birthplace of William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was born in Stratford, England in April of 1564. He was born to parents John Shakespeare and Mary Arden Shakespeare in this little town that sits on the River Avon. Little did his parents know that they had just given birth to a child that would grow up to become one of, if not the absolute, best writer of the English language to ever exist. While he wrote most of his plays toward the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century, his work remains some of the most commonly produced plays onstage today. He is known throughout the world and his work has been translated into many languages. Various cultures also adapt the settings and time lines of his work to create local productions that address extremely relevant contemporary issues. Tourists staying in one of the Stratford hotels are almost always interested in visiting Shakespeare’s birthplace and touring his childhood home.
Shakespeare began his theatrical career as an actor and quickly realized he had not only an interest in but great talent for writing the plays that would appear on the English stage. He also had his one theatre company, which was known simply as the Theatre, before moving it across town and rebuilding into the theatre that would remain famous through history. This theatre still exits today, though it is a newly built reconstruction of the original, and produces quality stagings of his plays. This theatre is called The Globe. The productions here also have many elements of the Elizabethan theatre experience include a pre-show of music and silly clowning.
Shakespeare’s work is commonly placed in three different categories, the comedies, histories and tragedies, though a new category of problem plays is becoming more widely accepted and part of the standard classification system. The problem plays are those that present various perspectives on social and political issues. They are often also considered to be comedies, and while presenting social problems do not usually offer concrete solutions. Some of his greatest plays are the tragedies, and his characters have become part of the social consciousness and are archetypes for various personality characteristics.
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